Violent crime in the United States fell for the fifth consecutive year in 2011 with murder , rape and robbery all going down , although crime remains a serious problem in many urban areas , the FBI said on Monday .

The report of all crimes reported to police nationwide showed slightly more than 1.2 million violent incidents nationwide , while property crimes hit a nine-year low .

Compared with 2010 , the new figures show violent crime down 3.8 percent overall . Property crime was down 0.5 percent .

Among violent incidents reported to police , murders were down about 0.7 percent , robberies dropped 4 percent , aggravated assaults declined 3.9 percent , and forcible rapes were down 2.5 percent .

Despite the positive trend , crime remains a serious problem in many urban pockets riddled with gangs , drugs , and poverty .

There were 14,612 murders last year , on average one every 36 minutes . That 's a small decline from 14,722 in 2010 , but it 's a decrease of nearly 17 percent from a decade ago .

Most victims were male and in cases where race was known , 50 percent were black and 46 percent were white .

Statistics showed 514 murders in New York and 431 in Chicago .

Guns were used in two thirds of the nation 's murders last year , 41 percent of robberies , and 21 percent of aggravated assaults , the report showed .

The closely watched Uniform Crime Reports do not include explanations for the consolidated figures , and the FBI does not comment on the data .

However , criminologists point to a variety of factors for the continuing decline in overall violence . They cite a more settled crack cocaine market , an increase in incarcerations , an aging population , data-driven policing , and changes in technology that include a big increase in surveillance cameras .

James Alan Fox , a criminologist at Northeastern University , said crime has continued to decline from a peak in the 1990s but now is decreasing at a slower rate .

`` I call it the limbo stick effect , '' Fox said . '' You can only go so low . You 're never going to get down to zero crime . ''

The FBI crime statistics differed from a telephone crime survey released by the Justice Department early this month . That report actually showed crime increasing last year , but attributed the change to a jump in simple assaults .

Fox said many of those assaults described to interviewers were non-injury pushing and shoving incidents not reported to any law enforcement agencies .

He also noted the increase that the Justice Department reported was from an all-time low in the crime rate the previous year , suggesting crime is entering a low level where police officials hope it will stay for some time .

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Crime still falling from 1990s peak but decreasing at slower rate , expert said

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Murder , rape , and robbery decline in 2011 , property crime hits nine-year low

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Violent crime remains a problem in many urban areas , according to FBI statistics

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Murders decline slightly year-over-year , but down sharply from a decade ago